Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-23
ON THE WATCH

Indian campaigns, killed grizzlies, trapped
wolves, and had a hundred stirring ad-
ventures in wild life, and | asked him to
name the closest call he ever had
well, the tightest squeeze ever had
came about in queer Manner he re
piled. u had come home to Minnesota to
get well OF stab given me in an Indian
fight in western Dakota, and the wound
was yet sore when a friend and myself
got out our traps together and went up
among the lakes forming the source of the
upper Mississippi river to have hunt. Ii
was about the middle of September when
we got into camp. and my strange ad-
venture began almost at once. We pitched
upon our site for camp about 10 O'Clock
in the morning. and before night had our
shanty completed. The hard work of the
day irritatcd my wound and made me fever
ish and about 10 O'Clock at night, as we
We're ready 10 turn i'll, took the pail and
started TO the spring for some water The
spring was about 300 feet away. with
open woods between. The night was clear
and still. with light frost beginning to
fall and the slightest noise could be heard
When ! was half way to the spring |
heard chipmunk, weasel or some small
animal of the sort running on the leaves a
hundred feet away, and the sounds actu-
ally startled me. Then | heard squir-
rel run up a tree, and followed him afar
up the branches by the sounds of his
claws on the bark. believe that the re
port of a rifle could have been heard three
miles on such night.
II reached the spring, dipped up a pail
of water and drank heartily, and then
stood for a moment enjoying the night
and the appalling stiffness Presently |
heard peculiar sound down beyond the
spring. | can't tell you why or how |
knew the sound was msde by some wild
beast dropping to the ground from tree,
but that was my impressiGl- II was a
sly action on the part of the beast, and on
a windy night could not have been heard
twenty feet. 1t went through me like a
flash that panther which had been roost-
ing in one of the big trees just across the
open space beyond the spring had dropped
down to attack me, and started for the
shanty like streak of lightning had
made no mistake in jumping tn con
clusions. As l bolted away horrible
scream overlook me, and | made clean
Jumps Of ten feet after that. We had
couple of hounds at the cabin, and they
were curled up and asleep when left it,
ht yen VI pioutSut VII pul
mighty sudden, and l suppose this saved
my life. That beast wasn't thirty feet
behind me when the hounds met and
passed me, and next instant there was a
shindy which would have made your hair
stand up | jumped into the door of the
shanty Just in time to collide with nv
partner and roll us both on the floor, and
before We could get our guns and get out
the affair nyar-fhnf is pf
dogs had been chawed to death, the other
half killed and the panther had made off.
1t was certainly II narrow escape for me,
and was weak in the knees when came
to think il over.
I've did not hear from the beast again
for three days. We put out ninety traps
along the swamps and creeks, and found
abundance of game in the woods. On the
fourth day, about 10 O'Clock IN the morn
ing, while my partner was cleaning his
gun and dressing off some rabbits for din
ner, / went out TO look at some traps set
the night before. My route was along the
swamp shores Of small lake. and it was
a cloudy day with cold wind blowing
had my gun on my shoulder as | tramped
along, and ! had passed the third trap
without finding any victims, when ! came
under large tree. As | was not looking
for live game / had not surveyed the
limbs above me. The space between the
tree and the water was not over ten feet,
and l was looking ahead TO locate the
next trap when ! stepped into hole and
fell sprawling. That fall probably saved
my life. | felt something Craze me as l
went down, there was horrible snarl in
my ears, and that Internal panther
pumped into the water with a great
splash had a shotgun with me, and it
was loaded for small game. ! was up be
fore You could count fifteen. My fall had
flung the gun several feet away. and as
soon as | could seize it / looked for the
panther. Missing his spring the way he
did probably disconnected him, and his
cold bath cooled his enthusiasm. He
floundered around, climbed back to dry
land, and after indulging in a shake to get
rid Of the water. he growled at me and
disappeared among the bushes. l sent the
charge Of shot after him, but he probably
GIT off scot free.
well, got it into my head that that
'armint was after me and nobody else.
My partner had not even got glimpse of
him, while he had twice attacked me.
inst left the traps and made a bee lire for
the shanty, and that afternoon we set a
trap in the woods To catch his highDess
The other dog was about dead of his
terrible wounds, and we finished him and
used him TO bait our trap. Two days and
nights went by and nothing further was
heard OF the panther. Then my scare be-
gan To 20 off, and | set out to look over
half our traps, while my partner took the
other half l took further around the
lake than before, and at II O'Clock in the
forenoon | was through with the last
trap and loaded down with game, As !
couldn't carry the load back TO the shanty,
i sat down on log to shuck some Of the
mink and rats, and pretty soon had for
gotten all about the panther. was near
the butt of the log or fallen tree the other
end of which was very bushy. | had my
back To this, and had worked for half an
hour when il struck me powerful hard
and all Of u sudden that was i'll danger.
IL was like voice calling to me, and at
the same moment chill travelled up my
back. | wheeled square about, and there
was that internal panther creeping down
the trunk as softly as cat TO get
nigh enough TO spring on me. At my
motion he stopped short with spit and
snarl. and CREASED lightning was no where
compared 10 my movements. My gun
was loaded with buckshot this time. and
l lifted her up and fired at him from a
distance of about forty feet. He was hit
by one or two Of the shot, and the scream
he gave was heard by my partner three
quarters Of Ii mile away. As he screamed
he nude a flying leap to another log, and
from Inat he went into the underbrush.
do ynu want TO know how far
panther can jump when he lets himself
out, ! measured the distance from log TO
log with n tape line, and it was thirty-four
feet TO dot was looking dead at him,
and | kno1 he didn't touch the ground
between the logs. I wanted to pull up
stakes for new locality, but the fear Of
ridicule prevented my saying so. My
partner agreed that il was n little strange
l should be singled out in such way by
the brute, but rs had escaped him thus
far there was no reason TO he upset. l
was, however, and didn't leGve the camp
again that day. The night passed quietly,
and as the next day was rainy neither Of